Hizbullah, Hamas, Iran to meet in Damascus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Palestinian opposition factions, Hizbullah officials and a delegation of Iranians, will soon meet in Damascus, the Kuwaiti Al-Anba daily newspaper reported on Monday. The meeting, according to the anonymous source quoted in the paper, will take place in late June, under official Syrian patronage, in an effort to activate resistance in the region in light of an expected Israeli offensive against Iran or against Hizbullah in Lebanon.

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Gaza still off limits to dignitaries
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Herb Keinon - June 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Despite Sunday’s government decision to significantly increase the goods and materials to be allowed into the Gaza Strip, Israel’s policy of not opening the door to foreign politicians is still in place. Jerusalem recently turned down a request by Dirk Niebel, Germany’s minister of economic cooperation and development, to go to Gaza from Israel. Niebel, who has asked permission on numerous occasions, both before and since the Mavi Marmara incident, is scheduled to meet Monday with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.

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Misled by mythical heroes, Arabs still keep dreaming
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Khairallah Khairallah - June 21, 2010 - 12:00am

The Arab world continues its search for the ideal hero. Within our culture there is a steadfast determination to find the perfect representative – and a strict adherence to the image of a saviour on a white horse. In the popular imagination, it is an image of a hero who will come and, with the help of the Almighty, rescue Arabs from the dire straits in which they find themselves. Tens of millions go to sleep every night, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf, dreaming about his arrival.

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Lebanon grants permit for blockade-busting ship bound for Gaza to sail to Cyprus
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times
by Zeina Karam - June 21, 2010 - 12:00am

Another blockade-busting ship with activists and aid on board could embark within days on a new attempt to reach Gaza after Lebanese authorities granted permission Monday for it to sail first to Cyprus. Israeli navy commandos raided a blockade-busting international flotilla bound for Gaza on May 31, killing nine pro-Palestinian activists. An international outcry over the raid pressured Israel to ease its three-year-old blockade of the Palestinian territory.

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Israel drafting new list of goods banned from Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Statesman
by Mark Lavie - June 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel pledged Sunday it will immediately allow all goods into Gaza except weapons and items deemed to have a military use under its decision to ease its three-year-old blockade of the Palestinian territory. The list of banned goods replaces an old list of allowed items that permitted only basic humanitarian supplies for the 1.5 million Gazans. Under the new system, the government said practically all non-military items can enter Gaza freely.

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Israeli Easing of Blockade of Gaza Draws Praise of U.S.
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Isabel Kershner - June 20, 2010 - 12:00am

Bowing to worldwide pressure and condemnation, Israel on Sunday formally announced an eased blockade of Gaza that could significantly expand the flow of goods overland into the impoverished coastal Palestinian enclave, isolated by the Israelis for three years.

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Israel and the Palestinians: The Irish connection
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Vincent Dowd - June 18, 2010 - 12:00am

For three years journalist Eoghan Harris has been an independent member of the Irish Senate. How does it feel being avowedly pro-Israel in today's Republic of Ireland? The Senator sighs. "I would probably be the only voice currently in the upper house of the Irish parliament to support Israel. "The fact is there's a whole consensus now in Ireland against Israel." Few would disagree. For a small nation, the involvement in attempts to deliver aid to Gaza by sea has been notable. At the end of May there were Irish nationals in the original flotilla.

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Canada: Israel's new defender
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Jesse Rosenfeld - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

At a time when many countries are becoming more critical of Israel's policies, Canada seems to be moving in the opposite direction. A general reluctance to engage in open debate about the Palestinian issue is exacerbated by pro-Israel groups' efforts to shut down discussion and the federal government's unprecedented penchant for defending Israeli actions.

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Egypt: Israel wants to 'dump' Gaza on us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak discussed efforts to lift the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, at a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas. Egypt reopened its border with the Gaza Strip following the deadly raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid boats by Israeli forces in May. Mubarak's government on Tuesday rejected an Israeli proposal that would leave Gaza entirely dependent on Egypt for goods and access.

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Egypt in awkward position on Gaza following Israeli attack on aid flotilla
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post
by Janine Zacharia - June 15, 2010 - 12:00am

With pressure building on Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip, Egypt finds itself in the uncomfortable position of continuing to help enforce the siege while watching Turkey outflank the region's traditional Sunni Arab heavyweights in championing the Palestinian cause.

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